The art of printing images with micro-fluid technology is relatively well known. A permanent or semi-permanent ejection head has access to a local or remote supply of fluid. The fluid ejects from an ejection zone to a print media in a pattern of pixels corresponding to images being printed. Over time, fluid nozzles of ejection chips have transitioned from cover plates separately laminated to substrates to integrated structures formed directly on the substrate. Photo imageable nozzle plates typify recent designs.
During manufacturing, design parameters dictate controlling stray or reflected light in areas where light-sensitive materials (photoresists) are developed. To minimize reflections, the semiconductor industry often turns to anti-reflective coatings (ARC's). For a fluid firing element on the substrate, such as an inkjet heater, ARC's are applied directly on the resistive heater surface. For proper inkjet operation, however, it is contrarily desirable to have a bare heater surface. Layers also add cost. The apparent conflict leaves few good options during chip manufacturing, inkjet operation, or both.
Accordingly, a need exists for reducing reflectivity during manufacturing, while also avoiding performance degradation during printing. Additional benefits and alternatives are also sought when devising solutions.